Decipher
by Atthla
Summary: Naruto has a visitor one late of night and that’s how everything starts to change. [NasuSasu, KakaGen]
1. Chapter 1

**Decipher**

**Chapter One**

**Author:** Atthla

**Disclaimer:** _Naruto _belongs to Kishimoto Masashi-sensei. I only play around with his characters.

**Pairings:** The main pairing is _NaruSasu_ but there are hints of _Kakashi/Genma_ and a few others I will disclose later in the story, including straight ones. The story will focus on NaruSasu, however. Take the pairing exactly in that order, although I don't think there's much difference vice versa. They're both boys anyway, and each has dominating personality the other cannot easily conquer. There is a reason why I put Sasuke on bottom though. Anyway, don't like, don't read.

**Warnings:** I'll just make a list to get this easier.

1. Contains male/male relationships. See Pairings list.

2. Sasuke is a manipulative bastard in this story. Living with Orochimaru for a few years will do that to anyone, but really, our Uchiha is just more complicated than he lets on. I'm only saying that for any Sasuke-fan who cannot bear to see him in a darker light than he already is, I advise you not to read this fic.

3. There are SPOILERS up to the newest chapter, which for me is chapter 332 of the manga. This includes the death of certain someone. Beyond that chapter, I'm afraid this fic will go AU. After all, I don't know what Kishimoto-sensei has in mind.

4. OOC-ness may be expected since this is my first attempt in this fandom.

5. Beware of some cursing since everybody is older in this fic. Naruto is 17 going on 18, so that means the beginning of this fic happens more or less two years after chapter 332 (the most recent I've read).

For this chapter, there are some blood and weirdness. Un-beta-ed, by the way.

**Summary:** Naruto has a visitor one late of night and that's how everything starts to change.

* * *

The air was cold.

Which was unusual. Uzumaki Naruto, roused by the slow grasp of awareness, grumbled in his mid-sleep and tried to pull his blanket higher up to his chin. The next thing his cloudy mind reported to him, however, was the stanch obstinacy his limbs showed to ignore his wish. The cold whispers of the night wind soon sobered his mind a little and with growing irritation, Naruto forced his eyelids to make way for his sight.

Darkness still reigned in the room as well as outside, and from the partly open window by his bed he could see the pale moon hanging low on the starless sky. It made him wonder if he had, by any chance, forgotten to close the window before hitting the sack earlier. Maybe, he was dead tired, recently coming back from a two-week mission yesterday afternoon and preparing for the old hag's birthday party afterwards, although he seemed to remember shutting the blinds. Which were obviously pulled up right now. That was why he could see the moon. The glass window was also ajar, leaving a medium-sized gap for every kind of wind to drift into his room.

That explained the temperature, but not why his body refused to move. Surely it was _impossible_ that his extremities were half-frozen by the cold, wasn't it?

Not that it was that big of a deal. Sometimes, when he was too exhausted from continuous missions or overexerted practices topped with short of sleeps, he would find it difficult to get up from the bed. That fact aside, it should be easy to restore his strength to a level which permitted him to get to his feet, shut the window, and slump back to the bed afterward. All he had to do was focusing his chakra to his limbs to lend his muscles some power they currently lacked. It was so simple.

Only this time, it didn't work.

Something was definitely wrong.

Drawing a slow inhale, Naruto exercised more concentration, then tried and tried again until the corner of his eyes caught a shadow just next to him, which told him that he was _not_ alone.

Blue eyes quickly darted to the where the shadow was and Naruto could hear his heart thundering in his chest once he noticed that there was someone, clad in pure black, standing by his bed. The dismal light endowed by the moon was not enough for him to see the face clearly, but still allowed him to distinguish the long robe of sinister black his uninvited intruder wore from the natural darkness of his room. There was a dangerous, menacing air he certainly couldn't ignore surrounding the stranger, pressuring his chest heavily and convincing him that this man – or woman – was not here to give him a little friendly visit.

Just perfect. Here he was, a _jounin,_ reckless enough to let his guard down so much that a stranger actually managed to slip into his room unnoticed, and now in an obvious predicament since he was completely immobile. Unless this was a sick joke from his co-workers, it would need a miracle for him to survive the night. Those who held grudge against him were not few and he knew it.

His motionless visitor now lifted a pale white hand in a motion so slow that it was almost inhuman. Naruto grew frantic and attempted more tries, each more desperate than the last, but still no part of his body assented to budge. Far above panicking, he could only watch in horror as the hand hovered above him for the longest second before withdrawing and ascending to its owner's face. A quiet tug pulled the hood over this stranger's head and Naruto felt his heart stopping.

The face was still indistinguishable in this darkness but he would never mistake the pair of red eyes for anyone else's.

For a while, his visitor did not move as those peculiar blood-tinted orbs stared at him impassively. Then, slowly he bent down to the bed, face closing in until Naruto was able to distinguish it clearly. Pallid bloodless skin, contrast in the company of crimson eyes and long raven hair which framed sculpted features with firm outlines. This person was _him_, undoubtedly.

Naruto had no choice but to wait as the intruder stopped at mere inches from his face, close enough for him to recognize the comma-shaped jewels, now three of them bathing in the dormant sea of red. A smile – if it indeed could be described as one – he was certain should never grace a human's face quirked the visitor's mouth, conceited and threatening in the field of shadows. Naruto stared, as if spellbound, long strands of black hair tickling his cheeks.

Then a voice, one he knew so well once and still remembered until this very moment, breached the eerie silence with a tone he had been dreading would come from this exact person.

"Afraid, aren't you?"

It was like a nightmare coming true. Naruto felt his chest constricting painfully, with anger, sadness, and – even though he loathed admitting this – unmistakable fear. His night visitor had not moved, only the peculiar smile widening as seconds ticked by slowly, each more condescending than before.

A low, guttural sound that might be chuckles ascended amidst other sounds of the night and left him empty, emptier than his friendless childhood. Like that moment two years ago and another almost five years back.

"_Dobe._"

For a moment, everything else but his heartbeat seemed to have faded into silence. His eyes widened angrily, more out of habit than anything, and he opened his mouth only to find two fingers plunging into it, pressing down his tongue. Naruto would choke if he could, blood rushing before his ears in rapid flows, but the visitor only smirked, trailing saliva-slicked fingers down his lips and jaw and further still. He felt his insides shiver at the touch and suddenly there was a sharp sting at the base of his neck.

For all he knew, it might be the tip of a kunai digging into his throat.

The next thing he knew, those fingers were inside his mouth again, smearing a salty tang he recognized almost instantly. Still in the middle of processing that information, he could only watch as the two fingers and what remained of his blood then disappeared into the other man's mouth.

If he was scared before, he was positively horrified now.

"This," the low voice drawled again in the silence, accentuating the word with another sting at his neck, "is your promise."

Naruto stared as his visitor licked more blood off slender fingers, red eyes never leaving his. At the far back of his mind, he could almost see the Fifth Hokage receiving a report that one of her jounins had died from blood loss. Despite being restrained by a jutsu, he suppressed a shudder and almost scowled when his former teammate smirked again, as if reading his thought.

"Not yet," he said, the faintest hint of amusement lacing his voice despite his narrowing eyes.

Naruto would have said _why_ – or _what the fuck you're blabbering about _– if he could speak.

"Come to me first."

He blinked once.

And his guest had gone at the end of that blink.

Again, it felt like his heart had completely stopped. He looked around frantically, half-wishing that his guest was still hiding at some dark corner of his room but knowing all along that the chance had once more flew out of his grasp. The jutsu was leaving him like tendrils caressing his cold sweaty skin and yet he still could not move. Desperate, he tried again and again, wanting nothing more than to jump out of the window and chase his former teammate until he could shake that pale body and howl _why, what the fuck, how dare you_.

Sasuke was there, not a phantom from his dream, not a bunshin, not an imagination. The real, alive, breathing, running-away Sasuke.

_In his room_. And he could _not_ move.

Naruto was angry, angrier than he had ever been at his helplessness. He had trained for years and Sasuke still could waltz into his room and make threats like that.

_Come to me first._

He gritted his teeth – or tried to – waves of anger roaring in his veins. Oh yes. That was exactly what he would do. He would go after Sasuke and come to him. Traps and caution could all go to hell. He would get the bastard back.

It took him a while to realize that his eyes had moistened, warmth overflowing at the brim. It took him a while to realize that the pain in his chest had entirely something else lay beneath, only its surface glazed by fury. It took him a while to realize that it was the sharper edge of relief.

It took him a while to realize that five years had passed and Sasuke was still alive.

**End Chapter 1**

* * *

**Notes:** I cannot bring myself to translate 'dobe'. I just can't. It's what Sasuke calls Naruto and I intend to keep it that way. That aside, I'd love to hear your comments. Review?

**P.S.:** Is there anyone who knows whether Izumo and Kotetsu are jounins or chuunins?


	2. Chapter 2

**Decipher**

**Chapter Two**

**Author: **Atthla

**Disclaimer:** Kishimoto-sense hasn't given them to me, so...

**Warnings:** See the complete set in chapter one. For this chapter, there is none except maybe some more weirdness.

-----

Tsunade was ready to scream.

She had been up since early in the morning when one of the chuunins on guard informed her that the security of their village had been breached. She had commanded a thorough search in the village, which had turned out to be easier said than done. Most of the people had still been asleep and now, three hours later, the effort proved to be futile at best.

What made her wanted to scream, however – apart from her barely-two-hour sleep and thick hangover – was the very futileness of the search.

Had she been younger, had she just taken office, Tsunade might harbor hope that nothing had happened and it was just a false alarm. Unfortunately – or fortunately, depending of how one saw it – she knew for sure that even one intruder meant big trouble. Konoha had never been that lucky to be visited by harmless intruders. And if they didn't find anything wrong in the face of the proof that there was an intruder, it usually meant extra big trouble. Whoever it was that had slipped into the village this morning certainly hadn't done so to prepare a surprise birthday party for her.

Well, a Hokage could dream.

"There was an intruder?"

She frowned as Kakashi came in, not even bothering to knock. For a moment, she was tempted to order him to return to the door and _just_ knock. There was a door there, damnit.

"There was an intruder?" he repeated, his tone taking up a slightly impatient note. It was then that Tsunade realized that for someone who supposedly had just woken up, the copy nin looked oddly tired.

Sighing, the Fifth Hokage relented. "We think so."

"You _think_?"

Tsunade was in the verge of ranting _yes asshole, I think there is an intruder because you know what, you've been sleeping all through that or fucking your boyfriend senseless all through that and I've been here since god knows when_ and so on if the door wasn't slammed open from the other side for the second time and revealed a breathless Gai standing at the threshold.

"Godaime-sama! I heard there was a breach in our security!"

"Now I know why this could happen," she said, calmly at first before fiercely slamming her hand onto the desk at the end of her sentence. She looked at both men with smoldering eyes and roared, "Even you jounins slept through all that commotion!"

"I was running a hundred times around the village, Tsunade-sama," Gai looked insulted as he wiped his sweaty brow, but didn't pursue the subject. "Is that true about the breach?"

"Tsunade-baachan!"

The Fifth Hokage glared at the third trespasser who arrived not from the door but her conveniently opened window. Uzumaki Naruto, now a seventeen-year-old jounin, was balancing himself on the window sill, under sleep-mussed hair a panic, impatient face. Tsunade growled. The young man in question might have turned out much more handsome now than the round-faced, fox-like little Naruto had advertised him to be, but his demeanor lamentably did not take such drastic turn. _And is that pajama he's wearing?_

"Have you ever heard of this helpful invention called door, Naruto?" she asked through gritted teeth. "It's a proper entrance for civilized people, currently standing just there waiting to be pushed open by you. And why the hell are you still wearing those things??"

"This is urgent!" The young man jumped down from the window, inviting himself in, and trotted to her desk.

"No. Get out and come in through the door. _Now._"

His expression suddenly became half-angry, half-desperate and Tsunade was forced to take a small step back when Naruto joined the let's-abuse-your-desk club and punched the piece of furniture with his fist. "It's about Sasuke, you old hag! Just listen to me first!"

"Sasuke?" Kakashi repeated sharply, all trace of indolence disappearing from his posture. He was not the only one affected though. Gai's eyes widened and Tsunade straightened immediately at the mention of the name. All previous tensions seemed to drain out of the room only to be replaced with something else much, much worse.

"He was there last night, in my room," Naruto explained, more than little hurt and myriad other expressions flitting across his face. "I'm sure it's him. He came through the window and even spoke to me, but I couldn't move. Some kind of ninjutsu I think. And it wasn't a dream!" he raised his voice when Kakashi arched a skeptical eyebrow.

"What did he want?" asked Tsunade, sensing a lot more troubles coming.

"I don't know!" Naruto waved his hands desperately, distress roughing the edge of his voice. "He was just there, standing, blabbing nonsense like promises and–"

Something about the abrupt halt tickled her suspicion and Tsunade found herself looking questioningly at the young jounin. "And?"

He avoided her eyes. "Nothing."

She sighed. Never a good liar, that boy. "Naruto..."

"I said it's nothing!" he shouted, his stance becoming altogether defensive. "He was just there! What's more important, is he still here in Konoha?"

"No as far as we know," she answered with a slight shake of her head, letting the matter slide for the moment. "You're the first to inform us that the intruder was Sasuke. Why did he come back?"

"Dunno," Naruto muttered, looking almost petulant to admit it. However, it didn't go unnoticed how the news actually impacted on him. The Hokage couldn't help but to feel relieved and slightly more worried at the same time. She hadn't seen Naruto this excited since years ago and no, she didn't really want to repeat the first few months after those three years had passed and Orochimaru had supposedly taken over Sasuke's body.

Which was probably a point she needed to bring up before hopes soared too high.

"You do realize that it might not be Sasuke at all, don't you?" she asked, trying to voice it as gently as possible but also succeeding to sound unsympathetically matter-of-fact at best.

Naruto remained silent and from the corner of her eyes, Tsunade could see her copy ninja leaning back to the wall, his one eye intent on his former student. Apparently the possibility was not lost to him and in that case, perhaps also Naruto. He was only too stubborn – too reluctant to let go of the slightest hope even after two years – to admit it.

When the blond young man gave no indication to responding at all, she retreated to safer ground and changed the subject. "You're bleeding."

Blue eyes looked up at her in confusion. "Eh?"

"There," she motioned toward his neck, a small wound and a long track of dried blood running down toward the Shodaime's necklace he was wearing.

Naruto suddenly turned bright red. "Uh, no– that's..."

"Do I want to know?" Tsunade quickly asked, sensing that this might be one of those few things she preferred to stay in the realm of unknown-ness. Recently she had picked up rumors about Naruto and Hinata going out. The Hyuuga heiress seemed like a sweet, docile girl and most likely it was just a rumor but one never knew

"No, no, you got it all wrong," he shook his head wildly, catching up with her line of thoughts with no problem whatsoever. "Sasuke did that. He said some strange things about promises and stuff and– do you even know where he is?"

"Of course not," she scoffed. "Why hadn't I told you if I knew?"

"Oh." Naruto looked massively disappointed and the Fifth Hokage was ambushed by that mishmash of emotions yet again. Damn Uchiha Sasuke. Wasn't it enough already?

"He said something, didn't he?" Suddenly Kakashi spoke up again, frowning as far as she could tell from the uncovered part of his face.

Naruto fidgeted, looking uncomfortable, and Tsunade knew that it was her cue to contribute into the coaxing.

"You know, maybe we can figure out something from whatever he said to you," she suggested, wincing when it came out a little too pushy to her liking. But the young jounin didn't seem to notice, his eyes staring hard at a faraway place on the wall behind her. They waited, aware that two balls were juggled in the air and only one he would catch in the end.

"He wanted me to come to him," he finally said, voice low enough for Tsunade to think that she had misheard.

Tsunade found herself frowning at the confession. "Are you sure it wasn't a dream?"

"I wasn't dreaming! This is the proof!" Naruto pointed toward his chest, fire blazing angrily in his eyes.

"Godaime-sama!" Tsunade clamped her mouth when the frantic call arrived with another shinobi. Izumo went in – again, without knocking – panic written all over his face.

"Now what?" She barked at the newly-arrived jounin.

He straightened and details tumbled out of his mouth quickly. "An urgent report has just arrived from the border patrol. It says that Uchiha Sasuke was spotted at the west area of the village, near the memorial stone."

As soon as Izumo finished speaking, Naruto dashed toward the window, followed not a second later by his former instructor. They had disappeared before Tsunade could as much as open her mouth.

"Damnit," she cursed, glaring at the window where the two had run off from before turning toward those remaining in her office. "Gai, follow them," she instructed hastily, "there's a big chance that this is a trap. Izumo, inform all available shinobis to stay alert. And get me Shiranui Genma."

Both jounins nodded before disappearing to get on with their tasks. Tsunade returned to her seat, massaging her temple as her headache worsened tenfold. Yesterday everything had been fine, she reflected sourly. Their village had lost so much – so many – from their brief clash with Akatsuki two years prior and everyone had just started to recover. Yesterday – this morning – at midnight, her colleagues had thrown a birthday party for her and for a moment, she had believed that everything was fine except for the fact that she had added another year to her already advanced age. Kurenai had announced that she was pregnant and that she and Iruka would marry soon, which the Hokage was immensely grateful at. Losing Asuma was a hard blow for the village and particularly for the female jounin and Shikamaru, but...

But everything had looked fine. Until someone woke her up with the news that someone had entered the village unannounced at least.

Resting her head on the cool surface of her desk, she let out a long sigh and wished that she hadn't drunk so much this morning. There was something nagging the edge of her consciousness and for the life of her, she couldn't grasp what it was. Tsunade closed her eyes in concentration. It felt like a small detail had escaped her notice and it had something to do with Naruto. His story was certainly odd but if Sasuke were really seen at the vicinity, it was adequately confirmed. She usually spared him the doubt but Naruto had had his share of nightmares when it involved the Uchiha. And there was the wound as well.

The wound. Her eyes flung open. _That _was it.

It didn't heal.

She frowned, giving herself the benefit of doubt, but given up just as quickly. The wound _was_ really there and it was small, hardly something worth mentioning. She had seen Naruto suffering a much bigger, deeper one and it had disappeared without a trace save for ripped clothes in a matter of minutes, even seconds. The Nine Tails had made sure of it.

And this one, courtesy of Sasuke, had not.

Tsunade bit her lips in frustration and slumped deeper into her seat. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she had that missing link but unfortunately, her brain was unwilling to cooperate and hand her the answer. Naruto got it from Sasuke who wanted him to come and give him a little visit. Sasuke. Always coming back to Sasuke.

And that bastard Orochimaru, she cursed inwardly.

"A shitty birthday. Like always."

-----

The branches felt rough under his feet and cold wind whipped his whiskered cheeks, but all these details went unnoticed as Naruto leapt from tree to tree, eyes focused at nothing but forward and the smirking face in his mind. His heart was thundering in his chest and he felt alive, more alive than any second these past two years and damnit, now that he knew Sasuke was alive, he would get him back no matter what.

_Sasuke._ _Sasuke you bastard. I'm so going to punch you senseless when I find you._

He didn't even realize the presence of another to his left until a voice called out to him. "Naruto! You can hurt yourself wearing nothing but that!"

"Who the hell care??" he hollered back, ignoring the building pain on the sole of his feet and cold seeping in through the thin material of his pajama. He concentrated, chakra adding more power to his leaps, faintly aware that his companion was doing the same.

It felt like hours had passed until they arrived at a clearing enclosed by the forest, the black memorial standing proudly but alone at one end. The young jounin landed on the ground none-too-gracefully and looked around, expecting to see his former teammate somewhere waiting for him with that smug face of his, hands balled into fists ready to deliver the promised blow.

When his fifth looking-around still didn't stumble on anything remotely Sasuke-ish, Naruto almost hit himself hard on the head. It was stupid, he berated himself, trying to drown the pain that suddenly clenched his stomach. The guy had done all he could to keep Naruto away from him. Would he simply show up after all that effort? Maybe it was a dream after all.

_But the wound! And the patrol that said that Sasuke was somewhere around here!_

The young jounin was still in the heat of debate with himself when a hand was laid down on his shoulder. He turned quietly, looking at his still taller sensei, and noticed that the older man wasn't looking at him. Following his gaze, Naruto found himself staring at a familiar setting, so familiar that his insides ached like he had just received a very sharp jab.

Three poles, not too far apart, and he could almost see himself again tied in the middle and Sasuke at his right while Sakura at the other. He could almost hear Kakashi lecturing them about teamwork and Sasuke's monosyllabic grunts and Sakura's high-pitched complaints. Sasuke calling him '_dobe_'. Sasuke offering to share his meal

"Kakashi-sensei," he whispered, loathing the fact that his voice sounded weak and shaky but unable to care less.

There, tied at the top of the middle pole was a hitai-ate.

**End Chapter 2**

-----

**Note:** Hitai-ate is a forehead protector, for those who don't know. Anyway, I made Izumo a jounin. Don't ask me why. I just want to.


	3. Chapter 3

**Decipher**

**Chapter Three**

**Author: **Atthla

* * *

**Disclaimer:** a long sigh This is a fanfic, you see, so do I own these fabulous characters? 

**Warnings:** See the complete set in chapter one. I know I've mentioned about OOC-ness, but I'll stress on it once more. The characters are older, so I take liberties with having some development in their personality, good or bad. Nothing too drastic, just a little touch here and there but it may annoy an avid fan, so be warned.

* * *

"Is this all he left?" 

Kakashi turned his visible eye to Morino Ibiki who looked up from his examination of the piece of evidence laid on the Hokage's desk. The older jounin was looking alternately at him and Naruto, expecting a quick answer.

"Not sure if it was really him who left that, but yes, that's all," the copy ninja finally said when his former student didn't seem interested in responding at all. The special jounin returned to his examination after a slight nod, handling the hitai-ate carefully in his gloved hand. The room full of people lapsed into another thick silence for the next few minutes.

Kakashi looked to his left with some concern. Naruto, already changing to more appropriate attire under the Hokage's warning – threat – was strangely quiet. The shock, he supposed. The only other time he saw Naruto like this was after he had returned from his Sasuke-search empty-handed and although he had heard the blonde repeatedly muttering to himself that Sasuke was alive, his eyes had painted an entirely different picture.

Broken. Betrayed. Lost.

It was the thought that Orochimaru was using Sasuke's body that bothered the young jounin so much. And it was disturbing, Kakashi had to admit himself. Fighting Orochimaru had a vast difference with fighting Orochimaru with the face of Sasuke. But more than anything, it meant that his rebellious former student would be dead.

He wondered if Naruto had ever grasped that concept at all. From what he could see now, the blonde was still teetering on that narrow rope between hope and despair.

The problem was Kakashi understood why Sasuke had gone to Orochimaru's side. He and the boy were more alike than he had originally thought. What he didn't understand was why Sasuke visited Naruto and told him to come to him.

Unless...

Well, that was a possibility, but Kakashi didn't know if he could trust himself to believe it. Not when Naruto and Sakura looked like that.

The young kunoichi was standing rigidly at the other side of the desk, her lips pressed into a thin line, turquoise eyes never leaving the piece of evidence. Kakashi recognized shock, and then a flutter of hope closely knitted with resentment when she first heard about Sasuke's little visit. She had met them on their way back to the Hokage's office, eyes a storm of questions and demands, and the copy ninja was certain that he hadn't been imagining things when he thought that Sakura had sent her friend a glance that almost asked _'why you'_.

_Why not me? _

After that, Gai had left them to carry out his own mission with Lee, promising to return before sunset, and the rest of them gathered in Tsunade's office. When he put down the hitai-ate, Kakashi was not surprised that the Fifth immediately summoned Ibiki. It was the ANBU's presence that bothered him.

He let his gaze slide across the room, to the lone figure who was standing silently behind the Hokage. He was not exactly thrilled to see his lover there, especially since he didn't know the purpose of his presence. After the argument this morning, Genma had left him without a word and he himself had gone to the forest, slouching on his favourite spot under his favourite tree in the company of his favourite book and still feeling like trash.

It wasn't supposed to go down that road, their relationship. He wondered when things had started to get complicated.

For the second time, Ibiki straightened and Kakashi wrenched the thought away from his mind. This Sasuke matter was more important, he reprimanded himself and waited for what the older man was going to say.

"Nothing written at all, only a plain forehead protector except for this streak," the special jounin said in his usual clipped way of speaking, pointing at the horizontal line crossing the sign of the mist. "But seeing that it was left there, it's supposed to be a message. And usually a message is directed to someone." He looked pointedly at Kakashi's team, his scarred face grim. "Do you have any idea?"

The copy ninja frowned. He had been thinking about that and while he had had more than his share of killing Mist's missing-nins during his ANBU days, Kakashi could not fathom what it had to do with Sasuke, or his team in that matter. Any shinobi – with the exception of those in ANBU – rarely dealt with missing-nins and Sasuke had left them while he had been gennin still.

Except of course...

"Zabuza."

He quickly turned at Sakura's dazed voice, on her face a stricken look as she stared back at him. "Kakashi-sensei, it's Zabuza! And Haku! The hitai-ate must mean them!"

"Who?" Tsunade interrupted her.

"It was our mission together as Team Seven, Shishou," she explained hastily to her master. "We went to Wave Country. It was supposed to be a C-rank mission but in the end it was an A-rank. There were two missing-nins from Kirigakure, Zabuza and Haku, and–"

"He wants me to go to Wave Country?" Naruto suddenly cut her, impatience nothing but evident.

"Us, Naruto," she corrected, her voice sharp. "_Us_."

The blonde jounin looked at her, a hard expression on his face, but remained silent as Sakura continued to glare. Kakashi sighed inwardly, familiar with the small tension. And from the lack of retaliation, obviously Naruto also knew where that sharpness came from. They were a team. Sasuke might come only to him but they were still a three-man team. He, of course, could not challenge Sakura about that fact.

"What do you think, Ibiki?" Tsunade asked, oblivious to – or ignoring – the glaring match.

"I think it's the right conclusion, Hokage-sama," the special ANBU said impassively, "as far as the evidence goes."

Tsunade fell silent, her temple drawn into a frown as she mulled over the options laid before her. Not that there were many choices, even less when Naruto had that look in his eyes.

She sighed, admitting defeat. "You're going, aren't you?"

"Of course," the answer was almost an indignant scoff. "Even if I have to escape from the village, I'm going to drag his ass back."

"Fine, but you're not going alone," she decided. "Kakashi, you'll lead the team. A four-man team like usual, so find another two quickly. Your objective is to find out what the hell that Uchiha kid wants, not a word more than that. And remember that it may not be him at all. Someone may disguise themselves as him for all we know." She paused and turned back toward the blonde, looking fiercely at him. "Naruto, you're under his order, is that understood?"

"Yes," the young man muttered quietly, although his whole body language suggested otherwise. If the Fifth happened to notice it, she didn't say anything.

"Shishou," Sakura's voice sounded frail and there was an anxious look on her face as she addressed the Hokage, "what about me?"

Tsunade gave her an appraising look for a moment before saying, "Don't you have a mission starting this evening, Sakura?"

"Can't anyone replace me?" she suggested, sounding almost panic – desperate. "I want to go, Hokage-sama. I _have to_ go."

The change of address obviously didn't escape the Godaime. Her eyes narrowed but her tone of voice had not changed when she replied, "Shizune is away in another mission and I anticipate a lot of injuries in this one you're going. It needs a medic-nin at your level."

"What about Ino?"

"She's an ANBU now, Sakura, she has her own mission to handle," her master answered briskly, bits of impatience creeping into her voice.

For a moment, Kakashi thought that a fight would break out between the two powerhouse-ladies – something he would rather avoid at any cost particularly since he was in the vicinity – but Sakura looked down and nodded. "Yes, Shishou."

Even if he missed the tremor in her voice, he could see clearly that her fists were shaking. The copy ninja glanced at Tsunade who hardly responded to this fact save for a flash of sympathy in her eyes. Perhaps she was thinking about her own team, which disturbingly resembled his in so many aspects. It was not the first time Kakashi wondered if the two legendary Sannin had ever thought _'I'll definitely bring you back'_ when Orochimaru had left.

Maybe not. He only hoped that Sasuke was not as lost a cause as his supposed master.

"That's all, you are dismissed," the Fifth said, cutting his thought, and looked pointedly at him. "Prepare to leave tomorrow morning. If I don't hear anything from you in two weeks, I'm sending another team to get your ass back here. Don't fail me."

He acknowledged the apparent threat with a slight, noncommittal nod and left the office, followed by his former students. The dark expression on Sakura's face had not vanished and it became ten times painfully more obvious in the uncomfortable silence they were walking in.

Kakashi drew in a long breath, prepared to say something when unexpectedly Naruto broke the silence first.

"Sakura-cha–"

"Don't say anything," she cut him, eyes tightly shut as if she was restraining herself from exploding, or was getting ready to in that case. But it didn't come and when she finally opened her eyes, there were warring emotions in them Kakashi wasn't sure he wanted to identify and Naruto, as dense as he was, must have noticed them too because suddenly there was guilt written all over his face.

"Just promise me," she said, voice thin and strangely soft, "promise me to return and say that he's still alive."

Naruto looked shocked for a moment, but the emotion quickly gave way to a stark, frank determination and he nodded.

"This time I'll bring him back, Sakura-chan," he vowed, blue eyes never leaving hers. "I promise. Even if I have to drag him back kicking and screaming, I'll bring him back here to Konoha."

_To us. _

Kakashi couldn't help to smile under his mask, small and grim though it was. They surely had matured, and it was rather amazing for someone who had been under Jiraiya and Tsunade's tutelage. Coping with loss was one thing but he knew that he still had that resolve not to let his former subordinates have a taste of what it felt like to lose a teammate.

Apparently he still had a lot to learn from these young souls.

_Those who abandon their teammate are worst than trash. _

And Obito.

Maybe later he would talk to the Fifth again.

* * *

"Thank you for your help, Ibiki."

The special jounin nodded and left without a word, only sparing a glance to the other man in the room. Tsunade ignored it and waited until the door was closed behind Ibiki before turning to the silent figure at her left.

"I know you want Naruto to have Endou's place, but I don't think he'll accept the offer now."

The ANBU nodded mutely. Tsunade rose from her seat with a sigh and walked to the window, gazing out at the village below. Yesterday, it had been peaceful, children running outside, bragging that they had been accepted into the academy and she had just had to smile despite her mountains of paperwork. Yesterday, there had been sounds of idle chattering carried into her office, villagers talking about how great their Hokage-sama was and, despite knowing that Orochimaru and Akatsuki were prowling out there, probably planning a surprise attack to Konoha, she had grinned like an idiot.

Today the streets were empty, people barricading themselves in their homes because of the news of an intruder. She closed her eyes. The village had never really healed from that wound five years ago when gargantuan snakes had wreaked havoc in it and the Third Hokage had been killed. The ugly wounds just resurfaced and bled again when something like this happened.

Tsunade gritted her teeth. That bastard Orochimaru.

"I have a mission for you," she said to the ANBU. "I need your team to go ahead to the Wave Country. Be discreet. Make sure that it isn't a trap waiting for Kakashi's team there. Find Uchiha if you can, but do nothing until they arrive. Your Hyuuga should be able to detect anyone with strong chakra if Orochimaru is really preparing something ugly."

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

"Pick anyone from the jounin squad to be the fourth member of your team temporarily," she continued after a pause, poking around her brain to make sure that no instruction was left. "Oh, and don't forget to keep me posted. And beware of the Akatsuki, will you? They're still targeting the Kyuubi as far as we know. I think that's all."

Genma nodded but didn't left. Tsunade looked at him questioningly, but the wolf mask didn't exactly let her see what lay beneath and so she waited.

"Uchiha Sasuke is a missing nin, isn't he?"

She stiffened.

Not that it was unexpected. ANBU was an assassin squad after all and a Hokage didn't normally send out one of her best squads only to make sure that everything would be alright for another team which already consisted of skillful jounins, even if one of them were constantly targeted by Akatsuki. The only logical reason to dispatch them was to have Uchiha Sasuke killed.

So what the hell was she doing?

"You're right," Tsunade answered quietly, looking straight at the masked face. "You have the permission to kill him but only and only if a fight occurs and they are on the verge of losing." She paused and pressed her lips together. "I know I'm being unfair, Genma."

"Your order, Hokage-sama," the ANBU nodded slightly and disappeared.

She stood by the window for a long time, the simple question still lingering in her mind. There were thousands of reasons she could have given him – _he's our last chance to get the power of Sharingan back to the village _or _he's just a very unfortunate child, his brother killed his family, you see_ or _we can use him to find Orochimaru_ – but she knew that neither of them even came close to the actual reason.

Naruto reminded her to Jiraiya but Sasuke might be a far cry from Orochimaru. That was all the reason she stood for.

She just wanted to believe.

Tsunade leant back to her seat with a sigh and groaned when she heard knocking from the door. From the sound of it, another team of ANBU had returned and was ready to exhaust the rest of her morning with long mission reports.

"Is the meeting over, Hokage-sama?" a quiet voice asked her.

"Yeah, come in," she replied, straightening her position. Not that she had anything else to do until Kakashi reported to her again – and no, no more paperwork please.

A man wearing a cat's mask entered the room without a sound and recognizing the mask, an idea suddenly crossed her mind. She allowed a little smile. This might be fate interfering.

"It's a good thing you've come back, Tenzou," she addressed the ANBU quickly. "Seeing that you barely have a scratch, I'll take it that the mission is a success. Anyway, I'll hear your report later. Is Shikamaru back with you?"

"Yes, Godaime-sama," the answer was prompt and polite, even if a little confused.

"Is he hurt?"

"No, the mission is rather straightforward."

"Good," she nodded. "I want to borrow him for a new mission."

* * *

He hated Sasuke.

That arrogant, stupid, lying bastard.

Naruto kicked a stray pebble as he walked along the river. He hated Sasuke for making Sakura look like that. He hated Sasuke for making him feel like this. He hated Sasuke for being alive and not saying a word about it all these two years. The point was, he hated Sasuke and he was going to get the asshole back to punch him senseless.

He had spent the whole day sauntering around the village aimlessly, trying to calm down his seething thoughts. It was just like Sasuke, coming and going as he pleased, that selfish bastard

_Come to him first? What the fuck? _

"Hey, Naruto!"

The voice scattered his vicious thoughts. He turned around, finding Ino and Hinata side by side walking toward him – or Ino dragging Hinata toward him, seeing how the taller girl was controlling their pace.

"What's with that ugly look?" the blonde girl asked, grinning. "Recently dumped by anybody?"

"You really have the friendliest mouth in the universe, Ino," he muttered darkly.

"What can I say? It's a part of my charm," she replied cheekily. "Seriously, Naruto, you look like somebody's just been killed. Don't make Hinata more worried than she already is, will you?"

"Ino-chan!" the other girl protested with a blush. Ino grinned at her and put an arm around her shoulders.

"This guy isn't worth shitting about, Hinata. You'll just get wrinkles from him."

"Really, I don't understand why you hang around her, Hinata," Naruto was glaring accusations at the blonde girl who only raised her eyebrows questioningly.

"Is that jealousy I hear, Uzumaki?"

He only glared harder, blaming Sasuke for his abnormal lack of wits. He usually could stand his ground while exchanging insults with Ino, who had developed a more violent side after her former instructor's passing. Hinata, on the other hand, didn't change much, which was a relief to Naruto. Why change a sweet, caring nature if a girl can avoid growing into someone that crude-mouthed.

Except that now he was not so oblivious as to why the shy girl kept on blushing around him.

He cleared his throat, waving away the discomfort in his stomach, and asked, "You two are not in any mission?"

"Nope, lucky for us," Ino answered with a sigh that Naruto knew was truly, truly genuine. "We're expecting a much-needed holiday until this weekend. The thing about the intruder is kinda shocking though," she added.

"Yeah," he mumbled, not knowing what else to say. Apparently, the news about Sasuke strolling at the border of their village was kept secret. Knowing Tsunade, it was not a surprise. He began to understand the way the old hag's mind worked.

"What about you, Naruto-kun?" Hinata's soft voice broke the silence he had left. "Do you have any mission in near future?"

He nodded uneasily, trying not to think about _the_ mission. "I have one, starting tomorrow morning."

"Oh."

Ino snorted. "See? You should have asked Kiba."

Hinata's stammering protests went unacknowledged by her blonde friend who still continued talking. "Or you can go with me, Hinata. I can be a very pretty guy. Hey, we'll make a cute couple!"

Naruto felt the corner of his left eye twitching. "Do I even want to know what you two are talking about?"

Ino rolled her eyes. "The beginning-of-autumn festival, remember? It's next week and you're supposed to go with a date. Except that you're on a mission of course." She paused and suddenly her grin took on a rather mischievous curve. "Well, it's a good thing that you'll be away. I know you'll come to me crying if you can't get a date."

"You're not supposed to talk about other people's dates when you don't even have one, Ino pig," he shot back, inwardly thanking Sakura for the quick supply of insult-name.

She looked amused – and challenged. "Oh? Why don't we talk about _your_ date, chicken ass?"

A perfectly brutal retaliation was ready on the edge of his tongue when a little bird flew its way through between them and landed on Ino's shoulder. The kunoichi clicked her tongue in annoyance as she let the grey bird to hop onto her finger as it continued its high-pitched twittering.

"Looks like I have a new mission," she announced with a grimace. "Okay then, I'll be going, guys. And Hinata, don't let this ugly brat do anything to you, okay?"

Naruto spluttered in indignation as the quieter girl blushed in an even deeper scarlet. Ino waved them a cheerful goodbye, winking knowingly at Hinata, and Naruto felt the discomfort crawling back into his stomach again following her departure.

"Um, I'm sorry, Naruto-kun," Hinata said, looking much more embarrassed than he thought normal for anyone in their age – or any age in that case. "You know Ino... she doesn't always think before she speaks."

"It's okay, Hinata," he flashed her a small grin, feeling the upcoming of another uncomfortable silence. He knew how to deal with Ino and her quick wits. It was when trying to speak with girls like Hinata that he became completely ineloquent.

The two girls had grown close ever since the incident with Sarutobi Asuma, especially because Hinata had been very worried about her own former instructor. Yuuhi Kurenai was strong – a well-prepared jounin – but it didn't change the fact that a loved one had died. Team 10 had hovered around her almost constantly following the funeral and one day, Hinata had just stopped at Yamanaka Flowers and asked Ino what kind of flowers Asuma-sensei had often bought.

It had been instant understanding.

Perhaps it was strange, looking at how different they were, but Hinata managed to slip into Ino's heart like she always had to everyone close to her. And then, there was the time when Sasuke had supposedly given his body to Orochimaru. Naruto was thankful that the two girls had stayed by Sakura's side, never leaving despite her screamed 'leave me the hell alone!' He had Kakashi, but Sakura needed a gentler element to cope with her loss both men couldn't possibly possess.

A pop. "Naruto."

"Kakashi-sensei!" he exclaimed half in astonishment, half in relief at the very welcome appearance of his former instructor. Next to him, Hinata nodded politely at the senior jounin.

Kakashi raised his eyebrow questioningly and said in an apologetic tone, "You two are on a date? Sorry for–"

"No, nothing like that!" he blurted out, inwardly cursing Ino for leaving him and Hinata alone. It was her plan of matchmaking alright. Almost too enthusiastically, he asked, "Is there anything new about the mission, Sensei?"

"We should have a little briefing tonight, but if you're on a da–"

"We're not!" He glared at the older man and turned to the girl, seeking for support. "Right, Hinata?"

"Uh, yes..."

The copy nin released an audibly disappointed sigh, which Naruto shot another glare at. "Well, that's too bad. Anyway, I've got everybody for the mission. If you don't have anything else, we should go now."

"Right," Naruto nodded and turned to smile briefly at his companion. "See you again, Hinata."

He didn't miss the sadness in her eyes when he left.

**End Chapter Three**

* * *

**Notes:** Do we still remember Zabuza? Yes, we do. Those who don't can watch the earlier episodes or read manga volume 2-4. Anyway, the next few chapters will have a lot to do with Wave Country and the characters that appeared in that arc. Sadly, any NaruSasu-ness still has a long way to go.

Tenzou is Yamato, in case someone is wondering. Kakashi called him Tenzou in chapter 317, so I assume that it's his real name because Yamato is a code name.

I don't particularly like Hinata, but I'm against any character bashing, so don't worry. Anyway, the story won't focus on her, but on Team 7, especially Sasuke and Naruto. Yeah, like you don't know that smirks

Can't you tell I'm in love with Ino?

I'll stop my rambling here before it goes out of hand. Please review.


	4. Chapter 4

**Decipher**

**Chapter Four**

**Author: **Atthla

See **Disclaimer **and **Warnings **in chapter one.

* * *

The forest was quiet.

They had stopped for the night despite Naruto's protests. Sasuke wouldn't go anywhere, Kakashi had told him with a tone of voice that did not leave any room for argument. _He asked you to come, didn't he?_

Naruto leaned against a tree, glaring at the campfire blazing cheerfully in front of him. Supper had come and gone, simple – almost extremely frugal – but everything had gone untasted by him. Sakura had insisted him to eat more but she didn't seem to be eating much herself, so all he had to do was throwing pointed looks at where she had sat and it had effectively shut her up. Kakashi had gone since dinner had been over. The group was tense.

At the other side of the fire was Shikamaru, head bent low that his chin touched his chest, either asleep or deep in thought. Somehow, Naruto was not surprised to find the genius ANBU as the fourth member of the team and secretly, he was glad. At least it was Shikamaru, once the leader of a mission to retrieve Sasuke, not some ninja who barely gave a damn whatever would happen to the Uchiha. While he might not be a close friend of Sasuke, they still had grown up together, attended classes together. They knew each other. And a brainy brain was always a welcome addition to any mission, especially if it might involve more riddles like Kakashi-sensei had said in the briefing.

And of course, it was always good to have more friends, even one as indifferent as Shikamaru. He had somewhat changed after his sensei's death, less lazy and much more serious, but a good friend nonetheless. There was one time when he had been in a mission with Shikamaru and Kiba and the genius had gone all the way back to save them while their other comrade had returned to the village to deliver the objective of their mission. It had not been easy and he could have been killed simply by trying to slip into the enemy's area once more and still he had done it.

Friends didn't have to be overly sympathetic; Naruto had realized it that day. He had been surprised, irritated even, to find Shikamaru suddenly take on a strangely sarcastic personality after the incident with Akatsuki more than two years ago. It was just his way to deal with his loss. Like Ino and her crude mouth. There were myriads of other things to prove that one was really a friend than being sugary-sweet all the time.

The last but not least, there were only few Naruto could trust to watch his back and Shikamaru was one of them. He didn't _want _to expect danger in this mission, but it was stupid not to expect danger in something that involved Orochimaru. Yes, Sasuke was with him. He should have tried to accept and live with that fact by now.

A rustling sound behind him broke his train of thoughts and he turned around abruptly with kunai ready in hand, already expecting the worst. When a flurry tail could be seen scuttling away, he shot it a suspicious glare before turning back to the fire, feeling his heartbeat faster still than normal.

He was being paranoid. This mission made him paranoid. Or Sasuke did.

"What is it?" Shikamaru's lazy voice floated above the silence, one eye cracked open.

Naruto stabbed his kunai into the ground and waved a careless hand. "Nothing, just a fox," he replied, trying to sound offhanded and knowing that the attempt had failed miserably.

Shikamaru opened his other eye but not yet moved from his meditative pose. "This forest is crawling with them," he said, glancing to the dark clusters of trees as if to make a point.

"I know," the blonde grunted, slightly annoyed that his companion seemed to be able to pick up his restless vibe. Talking about a genius. Sometimes it was irritating to have an overly smart friend, frightening even.

Said friend did not look as if he had heard the grunt as he continued to look around nonchalantly, for once looking like the old Shikamaru who liked to spend his every time gazing at clouds drifting away. Naruto felt frustrated. It was like he had gotten riled up for nothing, but then Shikamaru threw a glance his way and he knew that his intuition was true. It was only a fleeting look, but Naruto felt like he had been stripped in that second, his soul bare for his friend's eyes to see.

Maybe he was really easy to read.

"I'm alright," he finally muttered, sounding sullenly defensive even without meaning to.

"Okay," Shikamaru nodded as he returned his gaze to a spot somewhere in the campfire, looking as interested as he was to the subject of nail-polishing. Naruto resisted the urge to wring his neck. Some people just didn't have to _try_ to be irritating. It reminded him to Sasuke in a way.

It was then when Sakura decided to make her entrance, back from the river not far from their campsite. She looked at her teammates questioningly, noticing the less-than-friendly atmosphere for certain. "Everything alright, guys?"

"Yeah," Shikamaru murmured as he stood up, stretching a bit. "I'm turning in for the night. Wake me up if it's my turn. Night, everyone."

"Good night, Shikamaru," she gave him a little smile and took the spot he had vacated, gazing across the fire at Naruto. "What was that?" she demanded, her voice lowering to almost a whisper.

"Nothing," he answered with a shrug, "just him being the smartass that he is and me the idiot that I am."

She glared at him with disapproval and chided, "Don't be stupid, Naruto."

He shot her a weak grin. "Even you admit that I'm stupid, Sakura-chan."

"Well, you are so intolerably stupid sometimes that even I am forced to be honest," she pointed out with an innocent smile, in her eyes sternness that told him to just drop the matter. He complied.

A comfortable silence settled in as he gazed at her and she into the fire and he found himself entranced by the way her hair looked almost red in the flickering firelight. Sakura was still very beautiful to his eyes, but he had lost it, the crush that had made him hate Sasuke long time ago. He would still flirt with her now and then, but she never quite retaliated and so he directed the rest to Ino, who to own his chagrin always had no difficulty to include Hinata in it in the end. That was why rumours were circulating about them.

Naruto had never actually thought about his love life. After Sakura, there was no one else. Except Sasuke. Not that he was interested in that bastard of a teammate of his in any way, it was just that he had spent so much time thinking about the Uchiha that he hardly could be attracted to anyone else in a romantic way. The old sennin had commented that it was not healthy – seventeen-year-old boys should think about many seventeen-year-old girls – but he had just told him to mind his own business.

Sometimes he wondered if thinking about Sasuke too much made him a little like him. He winced at the thought. His former teammate didn't exactly have the nicest personality in the world.

But it didn't matter. All he wanted was to get Sasuke back. It might be for his own selfish reasons, but if there was something Naruto didn't want to happen, it was to have a person precious to him taken over by Orochimaru. It was simply the worst possible way to die.

"You're silent."

Focusing his sight, Naruto realized that he had been staring off into space and now Sakura was looking at him with a funny look on her face. "Huh? What?"

"You're silent," she repeated, stressing on the latter word. "It's weird, you know, to be sitting here with you, the loudest ninja ever, and hear no sound but fire crackling."

"Sakura-chan, that's mean," he feigned a pout. "I was just thinking about the mission. Of course I have to be all silent and serious."

The pink-haired kunoichi only shook her head and didn't pursue the subject. "You were surprised when I was there in the briefing yesterday, weren't you?" she said after a pause.

"Yeah, kind of," the blonde admitted. "How did you convince the old hag by the way? It's tough as hell to get her to change her mind."

An amused look settled on her face as Sakura shook her head once more. "I didn't do anything. Yesterday evening, Kakashi-sensei just popped in and said that I'd join the mission."

It was not unexpected but Naruto was surprised nonetheless. "Really? Was it him?"

"I think so," she answered with a smile. "He just doesn't want to admit it."

"The shyness of a perverted old man," he shuddered. "It's so damn creepy when he does anything like that. By the way, where is he?"

Sakura shrugged but looked concerned. "Looking around, he said, to make sure nothing is lurking in the darkness. I don't know but he seems a little moody today. Do you know why?"

"No."

"I hope everything is alright," the kunoichi sighed. "Sometimes it makes me wonder if he is as affected as we are about Sasuke-kun."

Naruto didn't answer. He knew for sure that his former instructor had been affected, only to what degree he could not fathom. The older jounin was not one to let you see what he felt or thought and that mask of his did not help. They had not been especially close – he had been closer to Iruka and before he had gone with Jiraiya, Kakashi had poured most of his attentions to Sasuke – but it started to change after the last Sasuke-search.

He closed his eyes and suppressed a quiver. It had been a dark time. Sakura's eyes had always been red and all the faces around him had worn this look that was torn between pity and concern. He had always thought the worst, yelling at them because _no, you don't understand how it feels so don't pretend like you goddamn do_. He vented his anger, frustration in a way that no one who knew him – including himself – thought possible.

He left the village.

It was Kakashi who had discovered him somewhere in the forest, alone, tattered, skinny, _broken_. He had said nothing, only made him sleep with a genjutsu and the next thing he knew, he had been lying on his former instructor's bed, all wounds tended. They had never really talked about it, because sometimes Naruto thought that he saw the same pain in the older man's visible eye and remembered something Jiraiya had told him about Kakashi and his team, about a loud, brash boy named Uchiha Obito and his Sasuke-ish teammate.

This was a person who knew how it felt.

He didn't exactly remember how he had blended into the society and his usual daily life once more. It just happened, with him meeting Sakura and a lot of his other friends and them bugging him endlessly. Kiba and Lee were especially good in that. The Hokage, on the other hand, had said nothing about his temporary desertion but handed out many trivial D-level missions to him for a while, which he thought was her way of giving him punishment. In the end, she had still allowed him to take the chuunin and jounin exam.

Life had been normal for the next two years. Reports said that he was still targeted by Akatsuki, but apart from extra caution while carrying out missions, he couldn't bring himself to care. His only wish was to defeat Orochimaru and take Sasuke's body back, even if he had to squeeze the snake's soul out of it. It had become almost an obsession.

The one who kept him back, who restrained him from going the same road Sasuke had was Sakura. His pink-haired friend had made sure of it through every possible method, including popping at his apartment every morning to make both of them breakfast. Looking across at her, Naruto couldn't say how grateful he was.

His companion, aware that his eyes were on her, stared back and asked, "What?"

He gave her an endearing smile. "I'm glad you can come, Sakura-chan."

She unexpectedly blushed. "You can seriously make a girl fall for you by smiling like that, do you know? And stop saying stupid things, Naruto."

He could feel his smile already breaking into a grin. Well, Naruto was not exactly oblivious to the impressive development of his looks and physique and the effects they had to the opposite sex. "Does that mean you're falling for me, Sakura-chan?"

"Of course not," she scoffed, rolling her eyes, "I'm much too smart to get trapped by your shameless flirting."

The blonde exhibited another harmless smile before suddenly turning serious. "I'm not flirting. I'm really happy that you're here, Sakura-chan."

She didn't answer immediately, but then her eyes softened and so did her voice when she answered, "Me too. I'm glad I can go with you. And we have to bring Sasuke-kun back this time."

He nodded. "We will."

There was no short cut in this. They would get Sasuke back with their own power.

The kunoichi smiled, comfort and newly-restored spirit in her eyes, and Naruto knew he would do everything to keep that spirit there. Settling his hand on top of his stomach, he felt it beneath his jounin vest, beneath his orange jacket, an old hitai-ate with its Konoha symbol slashed. It was a reminder, an oath he had taken to himself, one he would – _must_ – fulfill this time now that he knew it was not lost.

_I'll get you back, bastard._

* * *

It was five, possibly four hours before dawn.

Genma slowed his pace down, sensing the weakened set of chakra on his trail. His team had been going at their top speed since the evening two days ago save for two brief stops to eat and catch their breath a little. It was easier to travel on daylight, at least for visibility, but the night had its advantages too, among them the lack of scorching sunlight. Autumn was already creeping in but it did little to the heat, especially in the Fire Country.

But a few hours ago they had passed the border and were fast nearing the place he had intended for their next rest. It shouldn't be that far anymore. Tying not to think about his own aching feet, Genma picked up his speed again, the others still following him devotedly. The night was clear but cold and he was certain that as they neared the river, there was bound to be fog.

Speaking of the devil.

He made a halt at a cliff overlooking the great river – or sea he should say, judging from the size – any vista he should be able to enjoy from this vantage point currently blurred by the fog. He lifted a hand, signaling the others to stop, and waited until they had gathered around him. The masks were still in place but Genma didn't have to see to know how tired they were.

"We'll stay here until sunrise."

A soft sigh came from the only female member of the group and he found himself smiling as he took off his mask. He gave in to his own urge to breathe deeply in relief as cool breeze drifted across his face, cooling down hot sweaty skin. It was one of the most annoying things about wearing a mask. That and the lack of freedom to have something long and pointy dangling from his mouth.

More out of habit than anything, he pulled out a senbon from his pouch and put one sharp end into his mouth as he walked to the edge of the cliff. The fog was indeed thick but he could still make out a big, dark shadow which protruded above the rest. That must be it.

"Come here, you three," he motioned for his team to draw near. "Look, that's the bridge there."

"The Great Naruto Bridge, right?" Ino's voice sounded amused.

He nodded. "That's the name. We'll cross it tomorrow morning, in disguise, and start gathering information. But four strangers at once will seem too suspicious, so we'll separate into two groups. It's a small country and the area we should be covering isn't that big either. This is more of a recon mission so anonymity is important."

If any of his team members was perplexed about the same thing he had asked the Hokage before the mission, they didn't show it and so he continued, turning to his right. "You need to get in there, Neji, so you're going with me to the village. Kotetsu, you stay with Ino at the forest near the bridge. Keep an eye on the surrounding and for Kakashi's team. We'll stay at the inn– what's its name. Rippling Waves or something."

"When are they going to arrive?" Kotetsu asked.

"Three or four more days, I think, they aren't going as fast as we are," Genma said. "If anything happens, one of you must notify us. And if it's you, Ino, tone down your make-up a bit. I don't want any commotion like last time."

She winked at him. "Whatever you say, Captain."

"What about mission names?" Neji spoke up, his pale eyes a stark contrast with their dark surrounding.

"We'll go with the usual. I'm Seiichi, you're Nida and Ino, you're Yonaka. Kotetsu, you'll go with the name Sanagi if you need to, but I don't think you or Ino will have to use it except when going into the village."

"One two three four?" Kotetsu commented with a chuckle. "What's with the name, Captain?"

Ino mocked a deep sigh and whispered conspiratorially to him, "You won't believe their naming sense before I got into the team. Kinda tells you what hopeless really means."

"You can go with Natsumi or Akiko if you want," Genma suggested dryly, which earned him an injured look from the blond kunoichi. He hid a smile and waved a dismissing hand. "Okay, that's all. Get some rest, all of you. I'll take the first watch."

His offer was greeted by, though not explicit, obvious eagerness. It was not long until their breath had evened and he was left awake alone with the blinking stars. Genma fought his own urge to lie down and just shut his eyes for a minute or two; it was not wise to let his guard down in a mission that involved Orochimaru.

It was a point that made him wary, especially since his current team members had not found what he called their teamwork's rhythm. He had worked with Neji for more than a year but Ino had just joined less than four months ago and Kotetsu was only a temporary replacement. He regretted Endou's decision to retire from the ANBU but understood why. Sometimes the killing got too much and honestly, it was mostly – if not only – what they, ANBU did. It also had been his reason to leave the group years ago, so he wasn't about to object.

Sometimes he still wondered why he had let the Fifth talked him into this again.

But, he looked around with a little smile, it wasn't that bad. At least being with this team wasn't bad. Both Neji and Ino – and Endou too once – were much younger than he was and to interact with them was different than with his colleagues of the same age. He had never picked up a gennin team but maybe the feeling was similar. All of them still called their former instructor 'sensei' anyway and never addressed him by his first name. Always 'captain', or 'Shiranui-san' in front of others. Being an examiner once surely left a deep impression, he thought with a smirk. He still remembered the exam with Neji in it and those stuffs about a bird and a cage.

And Uchiha Sasuke too.

The last heir of the Uchiha clan and a deserter. If not for his relationship with Kakashi, Genma was sure he would regard the boy as nothing more than a normal traitor. Secretly, he was glad that the Hokage had not given a straight order to simply kill him. There were too many knots in here, tangled and cluttered, and they needed more than just one assassination to unravel.

They needed friendship.

**End Chapter 4**

* * *

**Notes:** Naruto is the hottest thing in the world. Ino is the sexiest thing in the world. Shikamaru is the coolest thing in the world. Neji is the prettiest thing in the world. These are my reasons for the team members. Yeah, I know I suck. Why Kotetsu, you say? I like him, as simple as that. And of course Genma is my favourite character in the whole series.

Phew. This chapter is some kind of a filler chapter, but I need it to fill some necessary background for the story. I hope no one gets really bored reading this, but let me just say it again: We won't see Sasuke anytime soon. But once we meet him, we're not going to leave him again, I promise.

Thanks for reading. Review pretty, pretty, pretty please?


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